Nov 2 (CT) Being a senior medical professional and a concerned citizen studying and following the flow and ebb of the Corona stream, in my beloved motherland I am greatly perturbed by the way Corona raised it’s ugly head again and how this surge is being managed at the moment. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that there is indeed community spread now. Even though the health authorities and the media are making a valiant attempt to connect the hundreds of cases more..

Nov 2 (CT) Dr. Mahen Kotalawala, a Clinical Microbiologist and Infection Prevention Professional, who works at Kandy General Hospital, has written to Prez, explaining the steps needed to be taken to control the fast spreading COVID-19 in the country. Q: How do you interpret this pandemic? A: Initially, COVID-19 spread in our country slowly. One patient spread the virus to a few people. Generally, one person carries the virus to two more more..

Nov 2 (CT) It was recently reported that the World Heritage Centre of the UNESCO, based in France, has contacted the Permanent Delegation of SL to the UNESCO regarding certain information pertaining to the construction of a concreted road through the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre further said that it contacted the Permanent Delegation of SL, in accordance with Paragraph 174 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of more..

Nov 2 (ST) Eyebrows are being raised over the 20th Amendment to the Constitution’s inclusion of provisions at committee stage to increase the number of judges in SL’s superior courts of record, Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Justified by the Justice Minister on the floor of the House on the rationale that the increase was due to a heavy backlog of cases in both courts, this clause was however not previously in the Govt’s package of amendments presented to Supreme Court by more..

Nov 2 (TM) A majority of the members of the SLMC voted in favour of the 20th Amendment, while Party Leader Rauff Hakeem voted against it. The SJB, of which the SLMC is a coalition partner, had reached an official decision not to support the 20th Amendment. The Sunday Morning spoke with SLMC General Secretary Nizam Kariapper on the party’s way forward, following the 20th Amendment being finalised. more..

Nov 2 (DM) A man armed with a knife killed three persons in a terrorist attack on a church in Nice - France. The killings occurred at around 9 am inside the Notre Dame Bascilica in city centre. One of the victims, a 70-year-old woman was according to reports, decapitated. A man believed to be the Church Sacristan or Warden was the second victim. A woman in her 40s was critically injured. She managed to run from the Church but died of her injuries. more..

Nov 2 (Island) The government has been compelled to extend quarantine curfews as COVID-19 is ripping through the country in what looks like an unceasing wave. Perhaps, it may have to resort to much more stringent measures to curb the spread of the virus in spite of the socio-economic costs they will entail. Several other countries have also chosen to do so, unable to beat the virus. Three key health officials engaged in the country’s battle against COVID-19, in an interview with Derana TV, more..

Nov 2 (ST) The levelled playing fields of Lanka were queered this week when two titans – one the world’s superpower, the other its regional counterpart – chose to turn the tended turf to a muddied battlefield where invective missiles against each other were fired at will from their local silos, with scant regard to the much vaunted sovereignty of independent Lanka. It also chillingly revealed that, beneath its proud, patriotic, defiant, flag waving, pseudo nationalistic bravado and inane rhetoric, more..

Nov 2 (Island) In fact, a military alliance between the US and SL already exists. By signing ACSA in 2007, and renewing it in 2017, SL committed its strategic entry points – ports and airports, our armed forces, our military installations, food, oil, and spare parts, to the US for its war against China. The current regime seems to be pursuing the same policies as Yahapalana, but is doing so by resorting to coded language, because before the elections certain members of present govt stood up against more..

Nov 2 (ST) On Thursday, TNA leader R. Sampanthan met Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay at his official residence, India House for a discussion. The meeting was the outcome of a pending request from TNA leadership seeking a one-on-one meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi since the Prez election in Nov last year. TNA leader Sampanthan briefed the Indian envoy on the need to find a solution for the ethnic conflict and more..

Nov 2 (Island) Kiwis hate losing to Aussies, Everton hate losing to Manchester United and Sri Lankans hate losing to India. In sports, there is a sensational feeling when you beat the big brother. SL cricket at present may have fallen by the wayside but time was when India feared taking on SL like the plague. There was one man who terrorized successive Indian teams – Sanath Jayasuriya. This week marked his brutal onslaught of Indian bowlers on his way to 189, in the finals of Champions Trophy more..

Nov 2 (SO) Former first class cricketer and SL Cricket secretary Kushil Gunasekera who started the Foundation of Goodness and Tokyo Cement Group extended their partnership that has taken them to reach out to players in the north and east of the country. The company’s partnership with the Foundation of Goodness (FoG) established cricket training facilities that included upgrading two school grounds in Hikkaduwa and Seenigama in the Galle district. Hikkaduwa Sri Sumangala and more..

Nov 2 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is set to take a call on hosting the franchise based T20 Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2020, as they have run into a quarantine law barrier once again, with just 20 days to go for the tournament, a top SLC official confirmed. LPL is set to begin on 21 November and SL’s strict quarantine law will come into play once again. The tournament which was once postponed from its original scheduled date in August, more..

Nov 2 (Island) As described in detail by the writer in an article published in The Island, a press release issued by the Prez’s Media Division said that the President had directed that plans should be made to generate 70% of the country’s overall electricity requirements from renewable energy (RE) sources by 2030. Apparently, this has been decided at a meeting that President had with the State Ministry of Solar, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development and Power Minister more..

Nov 2 (TM) Ananda was just 28 years of age when I had the good fortune of throwing myself, heart and soul, into her service as a member of the tutorial staff under Principal Fritz Kunz in May 1914 – the historic year of the outbreak of World War I. Mr. Kunz had just succeeded M.U. Moore who had, during a period of just 3 years, not only continued the yeoman service of his predecessor, but had also produced appreciable examination results quite consistent with her early formative years. more..

Nov 2 (TM) The economy, which saw a contraction of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2020 and is expected to see an even bigger contraction in the second quarter, will rebound in 2021, Central Bank of SL (CBSL) said. “Economic growth is expected to rebound in 2021 and maintain the upward trajectory over the medium term, supported by pro-growth policies of the Govt. Policies to boost domestic production are also expected to more..

Nov 2 (Island) Amongst us live politicians who fail to see the broader picture. Developing nations mostly suffer due to short sighted decisions taken by our leaders. Politicians have some wonderful examples to follow in cricket – Sashank Manohar was one of them. A leading lawyer in Nagpur, the former President of Indian Cricket Board became the first independent Chairman of the ICC in 2016. He took some unpopular decisions including abolishing of the Big Three concept. more..

Nov 2 (Island) Track and field sports is likely to conclude a year without competitions as Sri Lanka Athletics decided to postpone their flagship event, the National Championship to the final week of December, subjected to clearance from health authorities due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Junior National Athletics Championship and the National Championship were the only remaining annual events to be held later this year after the cancellation of all other track and field events more..

Nov 2 (FT) EDB Chief Prabhash Subasinghe last week called on the export community to capitalise on their high quality products and ethical practices to reap the maximum of the European Union (EU) GSP+ and use it as a game changer to pivot to related business sectors in the post-COVID era. “Our exporters should capitalise on the high quality and strong ethical practices as a key strength for Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 2 (Island) Emergency repairs to Motor Yacht SAMARA I which was in distress off the coast of Colombo was effected at the Walkers Colombo Shipyard, last week, notwithstanding the curfew. The motor Yacht owned by Marine Solutions India Limited, a reputed yacht chartering company was on a voyage from Galle harbour to Goa in India. After leaving Galle Harbor on the 22nd she faced difficulties and was compelled to seek emergency repairs. more..

Nov 2 (TN) On this occasion, Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a tweet that the leadership of both countries are committed to continue and further strengthen “our friendship and bilateral relationship to mutually benefit both our nations.” Afghan ambassador in SL, Ashraf Haidari, said in a statement that in the modern era, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka established non-resident diplomatic relations on Nov 1, 1958. “As two democracies in South Asia, more..

Nov 2 (NIA) India and SL are both anxious to start work on the East Container Terminal (ECT) project in the Colombo port for pressing economic and geo-strategic reasons. SL side feels India’s participation is necessary for its security and also to uphold its policy of maintaining equidistance from powers seeking a foothold in the strategically located island. SLPA has already started work on the partially built-up ECT site with one ship more..

Nov 2 (CI) While the IPL has been showing off with its obnoxious dramatic finishes, Super Duper overs, and redemption stories, SLC has been trying to get their own T20 tournament - creatively titled the Lanka Premier League (LPL) - together. They got as far as putting on a wonderfully shambolic draft in which barely anyone seemed to know the rules, but despite which some squads were put together, before five foreign players pulled out. This seems like a setback for the league, but more..

Nov 2 (FT) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has recognised People’s Bank by awarding it the Trade Deal of the Year at the prestigious ADB Trade Finance Program Awards 2020 (TFP Awards 2020) jointly with Standard Chartered Bank. The TFP Awards recognises leading partner banks of ADB and the fact that the aforesaid award was one of the key awards of this ceremony chosen from hundreds of entries submitted by leading banks in Asia highlights the significance of this accolade. more..

Nov 2 (Island) A conflict has arisen in the TNA following the appointment of Mavai Senathirajah as ITAK General Secretary, on Saturday, according to party sources. The appointment was made at the ITAK office on Martin Road, Jaffna. Chairman of the Election Commission had been informed of the appointment. The post of ITAK General Secretary post fell vacant following the resignation of S. Thuraisingham. more..

Nov 2 (ST) The second wave of the coronavirus has caused a severe impact with the apparel industry orders being held up, resulting in buyers pulling out of Colombo. “Buyers have pulled out and bringing them back in is a difficult thing,” Free Trade Zone Garment Manufacturers Association Secretary General Dhammika Fernando said. SL, where buyers once turned to when other apparel manufacturing destinations were closed for business in March, is now facing same consequences more..

Nov 2 (FT) MAS Holdings said it decided to close the Bodyline Ltd’s Horana plant after 34 of its staff were infected with COVID-19. Following the text of MAS Holdings’ statement. The safety of our employees is the number one priority at all MAS facilities, and this is very much the case at Bodyline (Horana) as well, where we have implemented stringent health and safety measures to ensure this. Factory has had weekly audits by the local PHI’s and conducted more than 550 random PCR tests more..

Nov 2 (Island) SLPP National List lawmaker Gevindu Cumaratunga says the 20th Amendment enacted last month is required to rectify weakening of the State by the 19th Amendment. Alleging that the 19th Amendment had been introduced in 2015 with an overwhelming majority primarily to achieve three objectives namely (I) remove the Rajapaksas from politics (II) provide executive powers to the then PM Ranil Wickremesinghe more..

Nov 2 (CT) Nissanka Senadhipathi was elected Prez and Asanga Senevirathne Executive Vice-Prez of the SL Amateur Baseball/Softball Association (SLB) at the AGM held online on 31 Oct. This is the first virtual AGM of a Sports Body in SL. Major Senadhipathi, a man who signifies courage, discipline and determination, will bring in a wealth of administrative experience to the sport. When he was President of the Basketball Association the sport reached new heights and was among more..

Nov 2 (AD) An individual under medical care at the National Hospital for Respiratory Diseases in Welisara has died of Covid-19 on Saturday (31). The deceased was identified as a 40-year-old male from Mahara area. The patient was admitted to the hospital on Oct 23 due to high blood pressure and respiratory tract infection. The results of the first PCR test performed on the patient has come out negative, however, the second PCR carried out during the post-mortem examination has more..

Nov 2 (FT) Govt yesterday intensified the battle against the fast-spreading second wave of COVID-19 by extending quarantine curfew for another week in the Western Province and afresh in few other new areas, as the total number of cases reached 7,582 over the weekend with the detection of over 600 new cases. Govt revealed that 193 persons had tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, of which 187 were contacts of Peliyagoda more..

Nov 2 (Island) SJB Matara District MP Buddhika Pathirana has handed over two motions to Parliament seeking the approval of the House to promote traditional, indigenous varieties of rice and another to bring in new laws to destroy invasive plants. The two motions would be presented to the House in the form of a Private Member motions, according to the latest addendum of Parliament. The motion titled, Educating the public on the nutritious value of traditional, local rice varieties, more..

Nov 2 (BN) Sri Lanka has tumbled from best to worst in Asia’s dollar bond market, underscoring how fast the pandemic can chill sentiment toward weaker emerging-market assets. The island nation’s notes lost about 20% in October after dropping 15.5% in September, marking two straight months of the biggest losses in the region, Bloomberg Barclays indexes show. That’s a stark shift from earlier this year, when the securities were Asia’s top performers in each of the three months through August. more..

Nov 2 (FT) The dual cluster that emerged from a garment manufacturing facility in Minuwangoda and the Peliyagoda Fish Market exceeded 7,000 cases over the weekend, with over 600 new cases being identified. 397 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, of which 356 were contacts of the Peliyagoda Fish Market cluster and 41 were from quarantine centres. The previous day, 180 contacts of more..

Nov 2 (FT) There was a strange press release from the medical fraternity. I am utterly baffled by its pervasive illogic. Let’s take a look. The suggestion was that Lanka delayed action re the pandemic this time, and WHO says over-reaction is better than delayed action. If indeed Hurricane Katrina is coming towards you, or you have already delayed key action for months, maybe. Otherwise, for leaders who have to balance social and economic needs, precipitous action usually is a sign more..

Nov 2 (FT) I refer to the article appearing in the Daily FT on 22 Oct titled History repeating – Are we going to lose MCC or not? by an international development expert. It is understandable if a non-lawyer does not understand the legal packages included in the MCC to change the land policy of the country and to change the land law of the country to the Australian law to suit the expansion of large-scale industrial farming complex The Australian law is known as Torrens law or Title registration. more..

Nov 2 (FT) Fresh coconuts have disappeared from most of the retail outlets in the country by last week. In some places, they are available but sold through the backdoor as if the traders are dealing in contraband. Worse, they are sold at prices ranging from Rs. 100 to 120 per nut. That is close to double the price set by the Govt for average sized coconuts. But the customers are treated to a double jeopardy here. Apart from the high prices, they get partly mature coconuts plucked before they reach more..

Nov 2 (AD) The total number of coronavirus recoveries in the country crossed the 5,000-mark on Monday as another 344 patients were discharged from hospitals following recovery. This includes 88 patients from the Neville Fernando Hospital, 59 from Laggala Pallegama Hospital, 42 from Lunawa Hospital and 24 from Iranawila Hospital. In addition to this, 18 patients from Abanpola Hospital, 17 from Galgamuwa Base Hospital, 16 from Teldeniya Base Hospital, 16 from Pimbura Hospital, more..